An 11-year-old boy was charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting a 76-year-old neighborhood woman in her home as three of his friends stood watch.

Police said that for a week before the attack, the boys had been "terrorizing" the woman in her house, repeatedly breaking in and taking cash and other items.

The woman, who lived alone, told police she was taking a sponge bath in the kitchen Friday when the 11-year-old walked in, demanded money and then ordered her to take off her clothes and go into the bedroom, according to court papers.

msbunnicula, I think the mother's concerns are legitimate. Yes, if her son did indeed do these things, then there are serious issues there. However, if he didn't, I'd be mad to discover police forcefully induced the confessions. Though the boy may well have done this, he is still innocent till proven guilty.

(Is it that obvious that I just came out of my media law class?)

Q: How many poets does it take to change a light bulb? A: 1001...one to change the bulb, 1000 to say it's already been done.

Perhaps, Rev, but we can't know which side she's coming from until the court has decided whether he's innocent or guilty. That's not to say the court will necessarily get it right, but they do know more than we do. We assume this boy did all these things because allegedly so-and-so saw such-and-such.

Q: How many poets does it take to change a light bulb? A: 1001...one to change the bulb, 1000 to say it's already been done.

I think the mentality that everything they do is excusable because they're "just kids" is part of the reason for it.

When I was a kid, if mom and dad said don't do it and you did it anyway, you could count on getting in trouble. Or if you got in trouble at school, parents asked "why did you do that?" instead of "why does that teacher hate my little baby?" JMO.

It's completely possible that the mother had done everything right or that the child had acted perfect up until this point. I don't think it's fair to always rush to make judgements about the parent(s) without knowing the full story.

It's completely possible that the mother had done everything right or that the child had acted perfect up until this point. I don't think it's fair to always rush to make judgements about the parent(s) without knowing the full story.

I agree with that, but parenting keeps changing. It is so much more touchy feely than it was when my parents grew up, or me for that matter. For lack of a better example, take church. When I was two, there wasn't a peep from kids. If there was you'd get smacked out in the hallway. Now kids are talking and playing, being loud, dropping snacks all over the place. I dunno it just seems more lax. I'm not a parent myself and don't plan to be, it's just what I've observed over the years.

I think the mentality that everything they do is excusable because they're "just kids" is part of the reason for it.

When I was a kid, if mom and dad said don't do it and you did it anyway, you could count on getting in trouble. Or if you got in trouble at school, parents asked "why did you do that?" instead of "why does that teacher hate my little baby?" JMO.

You let them be terrors at 2 or 7, they'll be uncontrollable at 11.

As a child, certain things were expected of me. I expect certain things of my boys. They are old enough now to be accountable for the majority of their behaviour. I think too many parents don't understand the concept of setting boundaries for their children.

I agree with that, but parenting keeps changing. It is so much more touchy feely than it was when my parents grew up, or me for that matter. For lack of a better example, take church. When I was two, there wasn't a peep from kids. If there was you'd get smacked out in the hallway. Now kids are talking and playing, being loud, dropping snacks all over the place. I dunno it just seems more lax. I'm not a parent myself and don't plan to be, it's just what I've observed over the years.

So if he had smacked this old lady around in the process of trying to rape her then people would say it's because he was smacked at home. I just think kids sometimes turn out bad. I'd hate to think if I had a child that did something like this, and I honestly had no clue that they were capable of it, that the whole world would be coming down on me. In some cases I'm sure the parents deserve it but we're talking about an 11 year old, not a 15 year old. If that were the case I'd probably be more inclined to assume the parents should have done something about it.

It seems really unlikely that the police could've forced the confessions, at least not ones that will stick. Kids have all sorts of special rights re: representation, etc. to prevent coercion by the police. However, I didn't see the kids denying that they did this.

It hurts my heart to think what could've happened to these 11-13 year olds to fill them with so much anger, hate and disregard for human life.

Ugh.

The ones I pity are the ones who never stick out their neck for something they believe, never know the taste of moral struggle, and never have the thrill of victory. - Jonathan Kozol

I don't feel sorry for the children. They are taught by every teacher they have had in school right from wrong, societies rules, and I am sure his mother did try to teach him right from wrong. This kid needs to be locked away from the general population until he can get these concepts internalized. We have a perfect place for him in Oklahoma. McAllister Prison-maximum security lockdown. He would be safe from the other prisoners, safer than that poor old lady.

This is just sick. Those cops would have had to hold me back from my son because I would have kicked his ass if I found out he did that.

Is anyone else wondering where the hell the kid got a condom from or how the hell he would know how to use one? I mean, I didn't think 11 year olds thought about sex that much. I thought that sort of thing came in the teen years.